THE TARDY ONE, the steady one, the injured one, the indomitable one and the perfect one: Those were the main characters during last night's episode of the Math, Civics and Sciences Charter show last night at Archbishop Ryan.
And the Mighty Elephants could not have written a more compelling script.
Without its head coach Danny Jackson, who missed the game for a family funeral, MC&S authored a 47-46 come-from-behind victory against Church Farm in Class A quarterfinal play.
Junior wing Samir Doughty, as he did most of the season, paced the Pachyderms offense with 16 points, while sophomore forward Nazeer Bostick made a bevy of important plays late that added to Mike Watkins' defensive dominance and kept Lonnie Diggs' coaching record unblemished.
"There was no doubt," Bostick said. "I knew if we stopped No. 1, we could win this basketball game. There was no doubt in my mind."
We'll get back to No. 1, Andofo Anyan, for Church Farm. But first, let's start with Jackson, who arrived late to the game after attending the funeral of his uncle, James Jackson.
"My uncle, who is like my father and basically raised me my whole life, passed away and now I'm the last man in my family to carry on the legacy," Jackson said. "I just had to be there for my mom. It was a hard decision, but I trusted my staff that they could get the job done."
The sledding was rough early. The Griffins, the top seed from District 1, flew to a 13-5 advantage in the first quarter that turned into a 25-18 advantage at the half.
Anyan, a senior point guard, dominated off the dribble en route to 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting (mostly layups) at intermission. In fact, only Anyan and wing-guard Tyler Ofray (nine points) scored in the Griffins' first half.
Enter Bostick, who had been out since Feb. 7 when he was hit in the groin during a game. Last night, he said he played against his doctor's advice. The 6-5 guard with long arms and a defensive nickname, "Locksmith," stuck to Anyan like water on wet in the second half. Anyan finshed with 20 points (four in the second half on 1-for-6).
Bostick (the bulk of the minutes), along with Tyreese Hester, Keith Griffin, Donavan Barnes and Doughty, took turns face-guarding the Griffins' shifty point man.
"I couldn't let my team lose," said Bostick, a South Philadelphia resident (Somerset and Dickerson). " told me not to play, but I couldn't let my team lose."
Later, he added with a smile: "They said don't play because I could make it worse, but I took a chance. I had on three pair of drawers and compression shorts!"
When asked whether he was risking long-term injury, Bostick said, "I'm just trying to win a state championship."
Several late plays helped. Bostick's steal and layup followed by a defensive rebound and long outlet pass for a Lou Myers layup gave MC&S a 45-43 lead with 1:20 remaining in the fourth. Then, Bostick's offensive rebound off a missed Barnes free throw yielded two made freebies by Hester and a 47-43 lead with 19.7 left.
Even when Anyan penetrated the defense, Watkins, a 6-9 Penn State commit, cleaned up. With PSU coaches in attendance, Watkins blocked five shots, grabbed 16 rebounds (seven offensive) and scored 11 points.
Watkins' tip-in with 5:42 left in the third quarter gave the Elephants their first lead of the game. The tide appeared to turn when the Griffins tried to slow the pace instead of employing the attacking style that earned them the lead. Preserving a short bench (they play only six to seven players) might have been the strategy.
The MC&S victory sets up a semifinal matchup on Tuesday with St. John Neumann, which defeated New Hope Academy, 78-68, last night.
The win also keeps assistant coach Diggs, who was acting head coach for MC&S last night, unblemished in his head coaching career.
"We've been a tandem," said Jackson, who arrived postgame after hustling from North Philly and getting updates via Twitter. "It's not assistant coach, head coach; it's co-coach. We do this together, so I knew I put it in good hands."
"I'm actually undefeated as a head coach," Diggs said with a smile. "Since we've been here the last 9 years, it's the fifth time hasn't made a game, and I won every game. So I have the best coaching percentage of all time."
In another game
Philadelphia Electrical and Technology Charter knocked off Archbishop Carroll, 52-51, in Class AAA quarterfinal play at Archbishop Ryan.
PET was led by senior forward James Suber, who had 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Senior guard Larenz Thurman added 15 points (all threes, 5-8).
Carroll was led by junior wing Derrick Jones, who finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks.
PET led, 24-23, at the half and, 40-34, at the end of three quarters. Jones scored eight electrifying points to start the fourth, including a one-handed dunk on a defender, but PET held him scoreless after the 6:30 mark.
Devante Truitt (six points total) added four rebounds and a block in the fourth. Jihad Barnes scored the game-winning basket on a goal-tend by Ernest Aflakpui (five rebounds, four blocks) with 16.8 left.
